The Cult of Kukulkan
by NoCleverSig
Summary: COMPLETE! Nikola Tesla sends Helen and team on a hunt for a mythological creature in Guatamala, but what she discovers instead proves even more shocking.  Stands Alone or No.11 in No Destination in Mind series. Sequel to "Eye for an Eye"
1. Chapter 1: An Intriguing Proposition

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything of Sanctuary or its characters, I just play with them. My words, however, are my own.  
**Note:** This story can stand alone but is technically a sequel to _"Eye for an Eye"_ and part of the _"No Destination in Mind Series."_  
**Background:** Druitt was cured of his energy creature, renewed his affair with Magnus for several months, then left her after she was attacked by someone seeking revenge for John's crimes. (In John's twisted mind, he left because he didn't want his presence to put Helen in any more danger.)  
**Genre:** This story is intentionally meant to be quite a bit more lighthearted, adventuresome, romantic, and fun. Enjoy, and please review! Thank you. NCS

**The Cult of Kukulkan  
**_Chapter 1: An Intriguing Proposition  
(Copyright 2010, NoCleverSig)_

Helen Magnus put the finishing touches on her report to the head of the Moscow Sanctuary and hit "send" as the Big Guy picked up her water glass and brushed the top of her desk with his grey, feather duster.

Magnus glared at him.

"Must you do that while I'm working? Can't you wait until I leave?" she questioned him, irritated.

Biggie kept dusting. "You never leave," he muttered, and moved to the end table, carefully cleaning the coasters and the Mayan bust.

Magnus sighed. "I know what you're doing. You're hovering again. I'm fine. Really."

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, lumbering over to the bookshelf on the far side of the room, duster in hand.

"You never liked him. Why do you care that he's gone?" Magnus asked defensively.

"Because you care," he answered simply, stopping his work to look at her. She stared at him, feeling tears suddenly well up inside and shook herself. She'd be damned if she'd cry over John Druitt again!

In the weeks since John had left her, Magnus had worked furiously to keep her emotions in check, substituting sadness with anger. True, the day he'd gone, she'd broken down in front of Will, but that was out of pure shock. Since then she'd shaken herself off, dove head first into her work, and hadn't looked back.

Damn, John Druitt! Damn him to hell!

Magnus nodded and gave her friend a shy smile. "I appreciate the support old friend, but I'm fine, honestly."

The door bell rang.

Biggie set the duster down and strode toward the hallway. He paused in the threshold and looked back at her. "You're a bad liar," he grunted as he left.

* * *

"Helen!"

Nikola Tesla sauntered into Magnus' office, arms spread wide and lips parted in his typical, toothy grin. Helen rose to greet him, unable to repress a smile in return. It was good to see an old, if not trusted, friend.

"Nikola!"

She reached out and embraced him and was surprised at how tightly he hugged her in return. He stepped back to look at her, hands grasping her upper arms. Magnus could see his scientific mind absorbing and analyzing her every feature. Finally, Tesla took his index finger and gently stroked the small scar on her cheek.

"You had me worried, Helen," he said softly and very un-Nikola like. "Kidnapped and tortured by a madman seeking revenge on John for his crimes? That's got to be tough, even for you."

She breathed in. "I'm fine, Nikola."

He nodded, letting the comment pass. "Did you get the flowers I sent?"

She smiled. "I did. They were beautiful. Thank you."

"It was the least I could do. Speaking of...where pray tell is Johnny the Homicidal Maniac? I would have assumed he would be hovering all over you dark and billowy like. Frankly I'm surprised he hasn't assaulted me already."

Helen' face dropped, but she caught it before she thought Tesla had noticed. She was wrong.

"He's not here," she said simply, her eyes darting from his.

Nikola looked at her appraisingly. "Out and about fetching your abnormals?"

"Not exactly," she replied evasively, moving to the couch, gesturing for Nikola to join her. She took a deep breath. "We...aren't together anymore. Actually, to be more precise, John left."

Nikola sat down and nodded, watching Helen closely. "Ah, so you're the one who gets clobbered, and he splits. That sounds remarkably like John."

Magnus started to respond, but Nikola held out his hand and stopped her.

"Seriously Helen, I have never met two more tragic lovers. Romeo and Juliet had nothing on you. Antony and Cleopatra, Lancelot and Guinevere, Tristan and Isolde…."

Helen interrupted him. "Nikola. I get it, thank you. We've had our moments, I know."

"And this is just another one," Tesla suggested.

Helen took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm afraid, Nikola, that this one is rather more permanent," she said softly.

Nikola stretched his arm across the couch behind her, scooted toward her, and leaned in, his warm breath caressing her face. "Ah, Helen," he whispered enigmatically. "You of all people know there is rarely anything in this world that is permanent. And I will say this once and only once and you will never hear it pass my lips again. Ready?"

She nodded.

"You and John were meant to be together…aside from the whole 'homicidal maniac' thing," he said waving his hands in the air emphatically.

"I think the _'homicidal maniac thing'_ is what's gotten in our way," Helen deadpanned.

"Hm…," Tesla nodded. "But on to other matters…," he continued before Magnus had time to question his inscrutable tone.

"So you mean there are other reasons you're here other than to see to my good health?" she teased.

"Indeed,' he smiled. "I have something for you. Something I think you'll find most intriguing."

Nikola reached into his inner jacket pocket and withdrew an envelope, handing it to her.

"Go ahead. Take a peek," he said, conspiratorially.

Magnus gave him a quizzical look then opened the envelope examining its contents.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

"I have my sources. Intrigued yet?" he smiled mischievously.

Helen stood up, pacing the room, reading the letter and looking at the picture it contained of a snake-like creature with a human head. "Kukulkan? Nikola, these creatures are mythological, if they existed at all. This photo must have been faked," she remarked skeptically.

Nikola rose to meet her, arms crossed. "Those were my initial thoughts as well, but I've had it examined. It's real."

Helen tapped the photo with her finger nail. "If this is true, then you've rediscovered an abnormal thought to be extinct since the fall of the Mayans, you realize that don't you?"

Tesla smiled. "Of course I do."

"Why bring it to me?" she asked tilting her head, scrutinizing him.

"What you're really asking, Helen, is what's in it for me?"

She smiled. "Precisely."

Tesla held his hands up in mock surrender. "Can't I just give you a present?"

Magnus smirked and shook her head.

"Okay, here's the deal. I don't need the creature or the money it might bring me on the open market BUT," he said raising a finger to her, "I do want the credit for finding it," he concluded, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Credit? You? For finding a mythological Mesoamerican Mayan snake God? My I can't imagine that!" Helen replied, her voice laden with sarcasm.

Tesla put his hands in his jacket pockets and turned his nose up, feigning annoyance. "Some people live for money others for fame. Me? I like having discoveries named after me, especially when I can get someone else to do all the dirty work." He turned back and grinned at her.

"Kukulkan von Tesla?" Helen suggested, eyebrows raised.

Nikola stroked his chin with his hand in mock contemplation. "Hmm...needs work. But it's a start," he grinned.

* * *

"You know, these are the times when I miss Johnny the most," Kate Freelander sighed, whispering to Will Zimmerman as they trudged, backpacks in tow, through the muck of the Guatemalan jungle.

"I mean, not only was the guy polite, he could zap us in and out of places like 'Wham! Bam!' none of this walking...through the muck...up to our hips...in mud..."

"Kate?" Helen Magnus called back over her shoulder.

"Yeah boss?"

"Put a sock in it."

"What?" Kate asked. She turned to Will and whispered. "What did she just say?"

"Shut up," Will agreed.

"Oh...sure thing, boss!" she yelled to Magnus.

"Thank you," Helen replied, not turning around. Suddenly she stopped, almost sending Kate careening into her backside.

"There!" Magnus pointed. Kate and Will followed her hand. The jungle opened up in front of them. In the clearing stood more than 20 huts surrounded by men, women and children, scantily clad in a mix of modern and native clothing, going about the business of daily life. A few looked up at the three of them as they approached.

Will walked up to Magnus. "Who are these people again?"

"Itzá...an indigenous group of Mayans who lost a power struggle a thousand years or so years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula and retreated here. Their native language is virtually extinct now. Most of them live along Lake Petén Itzá where the serpent god was reportedly seen. If Nikola's facts are correct...and that's a big 'if'," she said pointedly to Will, "this particular group of Itzás still worship the creature and may be able to send us in the right direction."

Will nodded. "Can you communicate with them?"

"I'm hoping their language is close enough to Mayan still to do so, but if not, Spanish may suffice. Let's find out."

Magnus walked up to the crowd of men who had gathered in front of them, smiled, and raised her hand in greeting. "Ba'ax ka wa'alik!"

They nodded, seeming to understand the words. She tried to engage them in further conversation in Mayan, but they shook their heads, confused.

"Habla español?" she asked instead.

"Si," one of them replied, a short, stout man with a crude cap of black hair, a round shirtless belly, and baggy blue shorts.

Will listened as they conversed in Spanish, catching a few phrases here and there. At one point he noticed Magnus' eyes widen, her expression and manner suddenly agitated.

"Un hombre blanco, verdad? Cuál es su nombre?" she asked the short man hastily, her voice catching.

"Juan, Juan Druid," he replied.

Will watched as all of the blood drained from Magnus' face. Kate walked up to him and leaned in, whispering. "Did that guy just say what I think he just said?" she asked.

Will nodded, shocked himself. "I think so."

"Donde?" Magnus queried him, her voice hoarse.

The dark-haired man, Kai, pointed to a reed hut at the end of the village.

"Gracias," Magnus mumbled, staring at the small dwelling nearest the trees.

"Magnus? What's going on?" Will interrupted.

Helen muttered to him, distracted. "They're letting us stay with them. They are indeed associated with the cult of Kukulkan and may be able to provide us some of the answers we're seeking."

"But that's not all he said, right?" Kate prodded.

Magnus nodded, her eyes still gazing at the hut. "He said we weren't the first to ask about the serpent god. A white man recently came here also searching for the snake king. A tall man with an accent similar to mine."

Kate looked at Will and back at Magnus. "You don't think….That's just crazy!" Kate scoffed.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Magnus slipped her pack off her back and handed it to Will. "Hang on to this for me please, Will."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine. Kai will show you to our quarters. I told him we'd pay them for their hospitality and information. If you could get us settled, Will?"

They'd been dismissed. Kate and Will looked at each other.

"Sure, will do," Will said, grabbing Kate's arm and pulling her away, walking off to follow Kai.

Magnus swallowed, took a deep breath, and walked over to the small, vine-covered home near the edge of the forest. _There was no way in hell he was here in the middle of the Guatemalan jungle! _she thought.

Helen stood in front of the shack in her long khaki pants and boots, tan shirt with sleeves rolled up to her elbows, hair tied back in a pony tail, and face dripping with sweat. Her heart pounded. _This was insane! Impossible_! she thought again. Finally she took a deep breath and called out, "Hola, puedo entrar?"

"Si, entrar," responded a deep, masculine voice.

Helen pulled the leafy cover away from the doorway, ducked her head, and walked into the hut. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. On her right lay a backpack, black duffle bag, boots and socks. On her left was a small propane stove and lantern with what looked like a kettle of water brewing. And in the center of the hut was a rug woven with reeds and a bedroll. Atop the bedroll was a man sitting cross legged, his feet bare, his legs covered in worn khaki pants, his taut, tan torso shirtless. He had a neatly trimmed brown and grey beard and mustache, his long hair shaggy and brown. His eyes were a piercing blue.

_Bloody hell!_ Helen thought, her jaw dropping.

"Helen!" the man exclaimed, practically jumping from his sitting position to stand up, towering over her.

"How?...Why?..." he stammered.

Helen Magnus cocked her right arm back, opened the palm of her hand, and with as much force as she could muster slapped John Druitt so hard his bearded face snapped to one side in response.

"You bloody bastard!" she yelled, turned on her heels, and stormed out.

_(to be continued)_


	2. Chapter 2: Snake Bit

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything of Sanctuary or its characters, I just play with them. My words, however, are my own.  
**Note:** This story can stand alone but is technically a sequel to "Eye for an Eye" and part of the "No Destination in Mind Series."  
**Backstory:** Druitt was cured of his energy creature, renewed his love affair with Magnus for several months, then left her after she was attacked by someone seeking revenge for his crimes, not wanting his presence to put Helen in any more danger.  
**Genre:** This story is intentionally meant to be Indiana Jonesesque fun, with some sexual tension and hot jungle sex thrown in for good measure. Thanks to MajorSam for her Beta. Enjoy, and please review! Thank you. NCS

**The Cult of Kukulkan  
**Chapter 2: Snake Bit  
(Copyright 2010, NoCleverSig)

Helen Magnus had no destination in mind, but she had a goal: Get as far away from John Druitt as fast as possible.

_God damn him! God damn him to bloody hell! _She thought.

"Helen! Wait!"

She could hear John's unmistakable footfalls trailing behind her, running to catch up. She was heading straight toward the jungle, heart pounding, mind reeling. Ten more feet and she'd be trapped. Brilliant.

_Fine, damn it! Fine!_

She stopped and spun around so fast Druitt nearly ran her over. "What the hell are you doing here?" she spat at him.

"The same thing you are, I imagine," he answered, breathless, pulling up short just in time to keep from colliding with her. "Searching for Kukulkan."

"Why?" Helen barked.

"I've been contracted to…."

"You're a bloody bounty hunter?" she shouted.

"I didn't say that!" Druitt yelled back.

She crossed her arms. "Selling abnormals to the highest bidder on the black market? I didn't think even _you _would stoop so low, John!"

He stepped toward her, his face hot with anger. He was barefoot and shirtless, his thin, khaki trousers hanging low on his hips. His face and chest were dark, tanner than she'd ever seen him, and they were soaked with sweat. His cheeks were covered in a short, cropped beard and moustache. His hair was brown, thick, and shaggy. How the bloody hell had his hair grown so long in three months? He looked younger somehow, dangerous, and extraordinarily sexy, a fact that enraged Helen even more.

He wanted to grab her, shake her, slap her, throw her over his shoulder and drag her into his hut and screw her until she either shut up or screamed in pleasure, he wasn't sure which.

"I'm not selling ANYTHING, Helen! I'm here at the behest of an entrepreneur seeking evidence. Evidence, Helen! Of this creature's existence. That is all!" he growled.

They stood there staring each other down, chests heaving in anger, bodies dripping with perspiration, waiting for the other one to break.

"Just stay out of my way, John! That's all I ask," Helen finally snapped back, tearing her eyes away from the line of dark hair trailing from the bottom of his tan, trim stomach into the waistband of his trousers.

She started to walk away, back toward the village, when Druitt reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She yanked at his fingers peeling them backward, making him cry out in pain, forcing him to drop his hold on her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she snarled at him. "Ever! You lost that right when you left!"

He stared at her, taken aback, holding his hands up in the air. He lowered his voice, trying to ease the tension between them.

"I was merely going to suggest that since we are both here and appear to be after the same thing that we combine our resources and work together ," John said, his voice low.

Helen stared at him, considering. "I'll think about it," she replied evenly. Then she turned on her heels and walked away, ostensibly in search of Will and Kate but desperately desiring to put some distance between her and John Druitt.

* * *

"Druitt's here?" Will asked incredulously. "Unbelievable." He shook his head.

"Man, what are the odds of that?" Kate muttered.

"Astronomical, I would think. But here we are," Helen replied.

They sat on the floor of the Itzá hut. Kai, one of the village elders and the one who had spoken fluent Spanish to Helen when they had arrived, had helped get them settled. They only had the one hut to spare, so they had to share. They'd been in far worse quarters before, Will thought, so he considered this a luxury.

"And you say he wants to work together?" Will asked, the skepticism readily apparent in his voice.

"That's what he said, yes."

"I say let's do it," Kate offered enthusiastically, looking from Helen to Will.

Will smiled and nodded. "You just want him to beam you around so you don't have to trudge through the mud."

Kate shrugged. "Well there is that," she smirked. "But seriously, Johnny is good at what he does. I wouldn't mind having him on our side again in a hunt like this."

Helen shook her head. "I need to find out more. Who he's working for, what they want and exactly what they are paying him to do before I agree to anything of the kind."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Will offered gently.

Helen smiled, reached out, and laid a hand on his knee acknowledging the gesture. Will knew, had seen, how much John's leaving had hurt her. In fact, he was the only one she'd broken down in front of, the only one she spoken honestly to about it. He would do everything in his power to protect her from more pain. She knew that. He was a brilliant friend.

"I appreciate it, Will, but I think we should go together. It'll be dark soon. There's nothing more that can be done tonight. Let's talk to John, find out what he's doing here, what he knows, and decide if working together is a viable option. Either way, we can start fresh in the morning."

They made their way across the village to John's hut. When they arrived, he was standing outside conversing with one of the natives still wearing nothing but his baggy khaki trousers. How the hell he was avoiding the mosquitoes, shirtless as he was, Helen had no idea. The light was setting low in the west, scattering its reddish yellow light through the trees and making John's tan body shimmer with a copper hue. He turned and stared at her as they walked up. Helen felt her breath catch and her insides tremble as his blue eyes met hers and cursed herself for the way her body consistently betrayed her when it came to him. _Not this time._ She told herself. _Never again._

He smiled at them when he saw their approach. He couldn't help it. He'd missed them, all of them.

Kate was the only one to smile back.

"Johnny!" she yelled, running up to him and holding her arms out to hug him. He grabbed her tight and lifted her up. "Miss Freelander. I see you're your usual, exuberant self."

She pulled back and gave him a quizzical look. "What's up with the Grizzly Adams? Not that I don't like the look," she said, stroking the stubble on his chin. "In fact, it's kind of sexy."

He grinned at her. "I believed a change was in order."

"Hmmm," she nodded. "Nice change."

She looked back at Magnus expecting her to be eyeing him as appreciatively as she was and saw only an angry, blank stare in return. Kate backed away from John and whispered, "I think we're here to talk business." Druitt nodded. He turned to Will next and extended his hand. "Will, pleasure to see you again old boy."

Will kept his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Druitt," he nodded.

_So that's how this is going to be._ John thought. Not unexpected. Helen was angry, hurt, and Will was being protective of her. Good. He'd counted on just such instincts when he'd left, knowing he would be leaving her in capable and caring hands.

"We're here to discuss your offer, John," Helen said flatly, the anger audible in her voice.

He nodded. "Come in, I'll get you some tea."

* * *

How Magnus and Johnny could sip tea in the middle of the hot, humid Guatamalan jungle was beyond Kate Freelander. Must be a British thing. Sheesh.

The four of them sat in Druitt's hut, Kate next to him, with Will and Magnus on the other side, as far from him as possible in the small space.

"Who sent you? Why are you here?" Magnus asked, cutting immediately to the chase.

"My, my, not even a 'How are you, you look well?' to break the ice, Helen." Druitt quipped, his tone just as biting.

Kate watched as the two of them went head to head, the tension ratcheting up a notch with each exchange.

She knew the boss was hurt when Johnny left. She wasn't an idiot. But she also understood why he did it. He didn't want to risk harming Magnus again on his account. His motives made perfect sense to Kate. And sticking around for goodbyes, well, that was never Kate's style either. She couldn't blame him for the way he'd up and disappeared.

Others, however, had different ideas. She glanced at Will, who sat next to Magnus like an overprotective golden retriever.

She and Johnny just thought more alike, which is why she liked working with him and why she didn't hold a grudge against him for splitting. Problem was, the boss not only held a grudge, she still had the hots for him, which was why she was so god damn angry. And Johnny most definitely still had the hots for her, which is why he wasn't putting up with her bullshit. Kids. This was gonna be a fun trip.

"I told you, Helen, I'm working for an independent research consortium, completely above board. They recently received information about a sighting of what might possibly be the fabled Kukulkan and asked me to bring back evidence of the creature," he answered her, voice raised.

"What kind of evidence?" Helen challenged.

Druitt sighed. "Photographic, video, physical if I can manage it."

"Then you're here to capture it?" she accused him.

"I get paid more if I do, yes, but I also get paid if I can bring back concrete proof of its existence in any form. And I'm willing to do that, knowing your sensibilities regarding such things. If he cannot be persuaded…"

Magnus interrupted him. "He? What do you mean by _he_?"

"Kukulkan," Druitt responded.

"Kukulkan is a serpent creature, possibly with some humanoid features, but a serpent nonetheless," she said.

Druitt looked at her, puzzled. "No, he's a human of some sort, a tall white man, with long white hair and a beard. Legend has it that he may have originated from the lost continent of Atlantis. He was responsible for bringing agriculture, civilization, and law to the Mayans."

Helen stopped, looking at him puzzled. "I know the legend, but that's not the evidence we have."

Druitt raised his eyebrow. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "Will?"

The young doctor dug in his pack and handed over the packet with the photograph and narrative Tesla had given them. Druitt examined it, his eyes narrowing. "Well this is odd." He got up and walked over to his black duffle bag, pulling out a very similar envelope and handing it to Magnus.

She read it. "The narrative describing the sighting and the location is practically the same, but the photographs…."

John nodded, hands in his pockets of his Khaki pants. "Completely different. It's as though we are looking for two different abnormals entirely."

Helen nodded. "Or we've been handed two different pieces of the same puzzle, making working together to solve this mystery the only viable option."

Druitt murmured, thoughtfully. "So it would seem."

Magnus paused, still staring at the pictures. "Well John, it appears we are partners…yet again. Shall we begin our search in the morning? Say 6 a.m.?"

He nodded, and then quickly gazed at her, his eyes drifting from her face to her chest. She wore no makeup, hair pulled back, face dripping in the humid heat. She'd removed her long sleeve khaki shirt awhile ago as they'd talked, her tight tank top, damp with perspiration, revealing the outline of her nipples and every curve of her breast. He felt his breathing speed up just looking at her. Every muscle of his body wanted this woman, had always wanted this woman. And every conscious thought he had told him that that was a mistake. His past had brought her nothing but pain and suffering. He'd be damned if he'd do that to her yet again.

He hadn't thought she'd caught him staring, but she had. Although he'd been quick about it, his eyes had roamed over every inch of her body, hesitating at her breasts, her face. Not only had she seen it, she'd felt it, her reaction almost visceral. The sensation had been so tangible he might as well have been caressing her with his hands. She shivered in response and closed her eyes, hastily excusing herself for the night. Will and Kate trailed after her, bemused at her sudden exit but not wanting to ask too many questions. The tension between Druitt and Magnus was already as thick as the fog that that had begun drifting into the village from the lake beyond.

Once again Helen Magnus was trying to distance herself from John Druitt. And once again fate had conspired against her.

* * *

The next morning, John teleported them to the rocky ledge of the north shore of Lake Petén Itzá. The body of water was large, resembling a small sea, the hills and vegetation surrounding it thick and dark and full of strange and unsettling noises.

"Why do I feel like I'm being watched?" Kate mumbled as they trudged one by one along the steep shoreline through the thick jungle and dense mist that washed over the water, obscuring the morning sun.

"Because we are," Magnus commented. "These jungles are full of rain forest creatures of all kinds; butterflies, hummingbirds, parrots, toucans, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, jaguars, pumas, snakes, crocodiles…"

"You could have stopped at _'butterflies,'_ you know. City girl, remember?"

Helen smiled and turned back around, following John's lead.

"Just bear in mind that most creatures are more afraid of you than you are of them, Kate." Magnus said over her shoulder.

Kate nodded, listening to the eerie sounds of animals and the occasional movement of unidentified creatures in the brush beside her. "Right…more afraid. That old chestnut," she murmured to herself. "Why is it that abnormals don't bother me, but snakes do?"

Will laughed, a step behind her. "C'mon, Kate. Don't you know it's usually the second guy who gets bit by the snake when you're hiking? So if you step on something, it's more likely to get me than you," he offered, trying to console her.

"Okay, but what if Johnny or Magnus step on something? Where does that leave me?" she asked, anxious.

"Toast," Will smiled.

"Thanks. Big help." Kate turned back around and kept walking, keeping her eyes peeled on the trees and the ground.

After several hours of hiking, Magnus called out for John to wait, jogging to catch up to him.

Druitt stopped and turned around, his brown, shaggy hair damp with sweat, his eyes even bluer against his reddened face.

Helen locked her thumbs in the front straps of her backpack and looked up at him. "Do you have any clue as to where you are taking us?" she asked, exasperated.

"The same clues as you have, Helen," he answered, equally irritated. "The description on the papers we have and the elders in the village all said that Kukulkan lives in a _'city in the mist'_ along the shores of this lake. I can't teleport from shore to shore, the fog's too dense. I may miss something. Following the shoreline is the only logical alternative, unless of course you have a brilliant idea that you have yet to share?" he remarked sarcastically.

They went on that way for awhile.

Kate and Will finally found a rock and sat down on it, taking a long drag of water from their canteens. Kate shook her head and smirked, listening to the rise and fall of Magnus' and Druitt's bickering in the distance.

"What?" Will prodded.

"They just need to fuck and get it over with," she quipped, taking another swig from her canteen.

"Excuse me?" Will gaped.

"Look at them," Kate tilted her head, nodding toward the bushy-headed Druitt (truly a sexy sight) and a pony-tailed Magnus standing toe-to-toe, faces red with anger and heat, practically spitting at one another. Will followed her gaze.

"I'm looking," he said, still watching them. "And what I see are two really pissed off people."

Kate shook her head in disbelief. "William, William, William….What you see are too people ready to rip each other's clothes off but neither one are willing to make the first move."

Will considered her skeptically. "He left her, Kate," he said flatly.

"He was trying to protect her," she shot back.

"So you're taking Druitt's side?"

"And you're taking hers?"

"She's our boss."

"And he's my friend."

They both stopped and looked at one another. Will shook his head. "This is ridiculous."

"Yeah, it is," Kate agreed. "Look, I'm sorry, Will. I'm not taking anyone's side here. I just think…."

"It was better when they were together, I agree."

"Yeah," Kate smiled. "They were cute."

Will chuckled. "You know Magnus hates it when you say that."

"Yeah, well, she's got bigger fish to fry today," she said nodding her head at the ongoing argument up ahead of them.

Suddenly, Druitt and Magnus quieted. Will raised his head to see Magnus walking toward them, her face still red with anger and maybe a hint of embarrassment. "Right. We're making camp for the night. John's going up ahead to find us a spot away from this ledge. We'll start fresh in the morning."

"Magnus," Will started, "Are you sure we aren't on some wild goose chase here? We've got nothing, except mythology, a local legend, and a couple of blurry photographs."

Helen nodded. "True, but I've found more with less. I'm not willing to give up on this yet. Are you?"

Will shook his head. "No, not if you aren't."

"All right. We'll give it one more day. Kate, when we make camp, make sure you contact Henry and let him know our location."

"Got it."

Magnus started walking, Kate and Will followed. Kate turned to Will and whispered. "Now I know what the kids feel like in the back of the station wagon when dad makes a wrong turn."

Will couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Something woke Magnus. She scanned the tent with her eyes, keeping as still as possible, listening again for the noise. It was dark, but she could make out Kate's trim figure lying on the other bedroll beside her.

"Did you hear that?" Kate whispered, keeping herself equally motionless.

Magnus nodded slightly, hoping the younger woman saw her movement. She reached underneath her bedding and pulled out her gun, releasing the lock. Slowly, she eased out of the sleeping bag and sat up. There it was again: footsteps. It might be John or Will. They were in the tent next to theirs, but something about it was off. She knew the cadence of their footfalls well, and whatever it was wasn't them.

Magnus motioned for Kate to stay put. The younger woman nodded. Silently she stood up, slipped on the shoes she kept inside the tent, grabbed a small flashlight, and quietly unzipped the opening.

The jungle was dark and misty. The fog had rolled in so fast and so thick that Magnus could hardly see, the flashlight reflecting back its own beam on the low clouds. She eased out of the tent and listened, trying to hear the noise, make out where it had come from.

Suddenly, she heard it again. Magnus pointed her gun and her light in the direction of the sound and chased after it, blindly, into the jungle. Something ran just ahead of her, crashing through the vines and trees. Whatever it was was large and traveling on two feet. It turned a corner sharply. She dived toward it and ran directly into John Druitt, machete in hand. Magnus crashed into him, knocking him into a tree, pulling her gun up and releasing her trigger finger just in time to avoid shooting him in the chest.

"Damnit, John, I could have killed you!" she yelled.

"Likewise, Helen!" Druitt barked, pulling his machete away from her neck. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Following something or someone," she said, panting. "I heard footsteps back at the camp."

Druitt nodded. "As did I."

"Could you tell where it went?" Helen pointed her gun and her light at the ground holding it with two hands, scanning the bushes around her. It was hopeless. The fog and the forest were too thick.

"No. I tracked it here but ran into you. What were you thinking, Helen? You could have gotten yourself killed!" he growled.

"Not that that would have mattered to you…" she muttered angrily.

Druitt dropped his machete and grabbed Helen by the straps of her white tank top. He spun her around and slammed her back into a tree, knocking the gun out of her hand.

"What the HELL is that supposed to mean!" he howled, dropping his hands to her waist, his rough beard inches from her face.

She stared at him, heart racing, cheeks hot with anger. "You left, John! You BLOODY left!" she yelled. "When I needed you more than ever you LEFT ME, you BLOODY BASTARD!" she shouted. She balled her hands into fists and pounded them into Druitt's naked chest, cursing at him as she beat on him, leaving red welts all over his body. She kept at it for what felt like hours, hitting him harder, faster, driving her fists into his flesh until her hands ached with bruises.

Druitt stood there, holding her tight, absorbing every blow Helen delivered, his hands never leaving her waist. He'd left because he loved her. He always left because he loved her. But this time it had been the last thing she'd needed him to do.

John reached up, grabbed Helen's wrists, and jerked her arms down hard, pinning her against the tree. His chest was flat against hers now, no space between them. Helen's face was flush with anger and heat, her hair hung wildly around her, dripping with sweat. Druitt hardened at the sight of her. He swooped down and crushed his mouth against hers so hard their teeth clashed, nicking her mouth, drawing blood. Helen could taste the metallic liquid on her lips, her tongue, and something inside her snapped. She pulled her arms out of Druitt's grasp, reached up, and grabbed him by the hair, running her hands through it roughly, something she hadn't done in a century, yanking his head down, swallowing his mouth, his tongue with hers. Druitt let go of her waist and thrust his hands up and under her tank top, feeling the sticky sweat of her back, her stomach, moving up to her chest.

John lifted her top up and over her breasts, bending down to kiss her, biting her nipples, licking the hot sweat from her chest, sucking her so hard she knew it would leave marks. She kneaded her hands through his hair in return, trying to force him impossibly closer before moving to the muscles in his back, pulling at him, scraping her nails over his soaked skin, drawing blood and leaving an inscription of her own along his bronzed body.

John moaned and moved his mouth up to Helen's neck, lapping the sweat from her skin with his tongue, tasting her, sucking her, biting her.

She ripped her hands away from his back and tugged his low hanging trousers down over his hips, releasing his erection and grabbing him violently, making him gasp. He released her neck and captured her mouth in his once again in response. He bunched one hand in her hair, clutching it fiercely and thrust the other into her pants, driving his fingers inside her with no preamble, making her gasp.

Helen stroked him roughly, holding on so tight she knew it must hurt, moving her hand brutally up and down him in time with the rhythm of his hand, which was plunging into her, massaging her. Vicious pleasure spiked throughout her body, causing shockwaves that hit every nerve along the way. With every violent thrust of his hand her bare back was ground against the bark of the tree but she hardly noticed. Neither one let go of the hold they had on the other's mouth, their tongues dueling in an unspoken battle, barely breathing, both of them growing heady from passion and lack of air.

She felt him move his hand faster inside her, his breathing, what little there was left of it, sped up. She answered in kind, stroking him quicker and harder in response, their tongues clashing in mimic of the battle going on below. The rhythm of their hands became so fast, so fierce, Helen thought she might pass out before she came, but the waves hit her violently, and she bucked against his hand, moaning into his mouth, squeezing him tighter in response. She could feel his length suddenly grow taut and then he tumbled with her, letting go of her mouth to cry out, dropping his head against her neck as he trembled and shook.

They stayed that way, bodies plastered against one another, leaning against the tall tree enveloped by the dense fog, until they could both catch their breath. John kept his head on Helen's neck, his warm, moist breath against her, and eventually moved his hands from her folds, her hair, and gently pulled her top back over her breasts, covering her, easing her pants up over her hips.

Helen kept her eyes closed, scared to look at him, afraid of what she might or might not see there, and instead tugged at the waistband of his trousers, pulling them over him. John moved his hands to her waist then and held her tightly. She wiped her hand on her pants and placed her palms against his wet chest, both of them perfectly still, utterly silent. After a moment, John lifted his head slightly, kissed her neck, and whispered to her, his hot breath against her ear.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She felt her heart melt again. _Damn him. God damn him!_

She opened her eyes, started to push him away from her so she could look at him when she spoke to him, when she told him what it was she needed to say, but suddenly his whole body violently shook. He snapped back, rigid, and stared at her.

"Helen?" He murmured strangely.

He looked down at his leg and she followed his gaze. A giant barba amarilla, a venomous pit viper, had risen from the roots of the tree and sunk its fangs into John's upper thigh. Helen lunged for the machete, picked it up, and struck the snake two-handed, cutting it in half with one swift blow. John fell down to the ground, the snake's head still hanging from his hip.

"John!" she screamed, when suddenly she felt a jolt to her head and her world went black.

_(to be continued…)_


	3. Chapter 3: The City in the Mist

**Cult of Kukulkan  
**Chapter 3: The City in the Mist

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Will Zimmerman threw a handful of dirt and leaves down in disgust as he knelt, surveying the area he knew Magnus and Druitt had been at last. When they hadn't returned, Kate and he had gone looking for them, their efforts hampered by the darkness and the fog.

Will stood up, his eyes and flashlight scanning the scene, pointing out the obvious to Kate. "We've got tracks leading to this spot, Magnus' gun, Druitt's machete, half a dead snake, blood, which may or may not be theirs, scuffle marks, but absolutely no footprints leading away from here. It's like they came here and vanished."

Kate walked up to Will, arms crossed, looking at the same area he was and finding nothing different. She knew he was frustrated and worried. She was too.

"It'll be light soon. Maybe we'll find something we missed then?" she offered sympathetically.

"Maybe," Will replied, trying to sound more optimistic than he was.

Someone or something had taken Magnus and Druitt, he was sure of it, and whatever it was didn't want them to be found.

* * *

Helen Magnus woke up with her head throbbing and her eyes blurry, trying to recollect what the hell had happened.

"John!" she exclaimed, leaping out of bed, making her head pound even harder.

_Bed?_ She looked around her. She was lying on a feathered mattress atop a wooden frame covered with a soft and brightly colored weave in a room made of stone. The open windows, draped with fine woven netting, let in a cool breeze that permeated the chamber. An intricately carved rosewood table with two chairs, both adorned with bright paint and designs, rested in the corner with a vase of dried flowers. Murals depicting what appeared to be traditional Mayan ceremonies and scenes of Mayan life decorated the limestone walls. By her bedside was a small standing table, exquisitely carved and painted. Atop it was a terra cotta pitcher full of water, a cup, and a woven basket filled with various fruit and bread. At the base of her bed sat a chamber pot.

If this was a cell, it was one of the nicest she'd ever been in.

The scent of tropical flowers and oils suddenly pervaded her senses. She tugged on a strand of her dark, wavy hair and inhaled. It was damp, as was her skin. She'd bathed or had been bathed. Magnus looked down at herself and realized she was no longer in her own clothes but in an elongated _huipil,_ a kind of traditional Mayan blouse. It was white cotton with colorful pink and blue brocaded designs framing the neck and collar. Mayan symbols, some of which she recognized, some which she did not, covered it. A simple flowing cotton skirt, also white, draped her legs.

Visions of her flight through the forest gradually returned. She had been chasing something through the jungle, crashed into John, they'd argued, then….She shivered, remembering their frenzied lovemaking. Distracted, neither had noticed the venomous snake in the leaf litter at their feet until it was too late.

_John…_

She had been about to tell him it was over. After more than a century of desire, turmoil, and loss, she was ending it, tired of the constant suffering their relationship had brought her. But then he had held her tightly, kissed her, and had whispered two simple words that undid her.

"_I'm sorry."_

It was unexpected and confusing. Everything she had planned on saying, rehearsed in her head should she see John Druitt again, dissolved into nothing when he held her and softly spoke his simple but heartfelt apology in her ear. Before she could even begin to formulate a response, it had happened. His body jerked and his eyes stared at her in utter shock as he called out her name. The blood drained from his face, and he fell backwards, the serpent with him. By time she had lunged for the machete and killed the snake, the damage had been done. John had been injected with a powerful venom, high on his body, close to his heart. She dropped to his side to help him, to see if he could teleport them away to get help, but then her world had gone black.

Someone or something had taken her.

If he didn't receive treatment, an antivenin, he'd be dead within hours. And hours had certainly passed.

"John…" she found herself saying out loud to no one but herself.

Magnus closed her eyes, on the verge of tears. The thought of never seeing John Druitt again was one thing, something she had lived with most of her life. It had been the rule, rather than the exception, of their existence. But the thought that he was dead, truly dead, felt like a crushing blow to her chest, making it impossible to breathe.

The simple truth of it was she would always be in love with him. Despite the heartache, the loss, the cruelty, there had been passion, and happiness, and joy between them. She would suffer through it all again just to have him back.

Part of her wanted to just lie there in this strange place, close her eyes, and mourn the loss of her lover. But the stronger part, the part that always prevailed in the worst of circumstances knew that the time for mourning would be later. Right now, she needed to determine where she was, where the rest of her team was, and what all of this could possibly mean.

Magnus took a deep, cleansing breath, opened her eyes, and walked to the window. She pulled back the sheer weave, gazed out, and stood speechless at the scene before her.

In front of her lay an entire Mayan city…a pyramid in the center surrounded by temples, plazas, public buildings, and homes all connected by brilliant white walkways and bustling with people in traditional Mayan clothes. The buildings and pyramids were covered with white stucco and elaborate murals that made them gleam in the sparkling sunshine that opened up over the valley below. In the distance she saw crops growing along the hillsides with workers diligently toiling away.

"_Welcome to Kahal__k'íin."_

Magnus turned at the sound of the lilting, male voice. Behind her stood three men, two Mayans, obviously guards, dressed as though they had stepped out of the murals adorning the city. They flanked an extremely tall, anglo man with long silver hair, though he couldn't have been more than 35 or 40, piercing grey eyes, and a handsome angular face. He was dressed in a shimmering white robe embroidered with golden symbols and wrapped in a flowing feathered cape. He smiled warmly at Magnus and spoke in English.

"I am Kukulkan."

* * *

"You speak English?" Magnus asked. For some reason of all the questions racing through her mind, that one seemed the most pressing.

"I speak many languages," he answered and moved toward her. His guards moved with him but he held his hand out to stay them, and they dropped back. He walked up to Magnus and stood by her side looking out through the window, nodding toward the buildings and people below.

"What do you think of my city?" he asked proudly.

She followed his gaze.

"Amazing," Magnus answered honestly. Looking out at the sprawling metropolis was like looking back in time. "Utterly amazing. Place of the Sun?" she asked.

He turned and smiled at her. "Yes, Kahalk'íin, Place of the Sun. You speak Mayan?"

"Yes."

Kukulkan eyed her approvingly. "I assume you have questions?"

"Thousands," Magnus remarked, crossing her arms and turning towards him. "Why you kidnapped me being the foremost."

The ancient king shook his head ruefully. "I apologize for the way my guards brought you here. They are not always…what is your word? Subtle. They protect our city fiercely. However, you are not a prisoner here, Helen. You are my guest."

She tilted her head and looked at him. "You know my name?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We've been watching you since your party entered the lakeshore. You were searching for me. You are their leader. I wanted to speak with you."

"There are more polite ways to get my attention," Magnus suggested sarcastically.

Kukulkan laughed. "Agreed. But the secret of our city is one we guard closely. Very few outsiders have ever entered here. Please forgive our abruptness," he said, washing his eyes over her. He lifted his hand and lightly stroked her hair. Magnus pulled back out of reflex, and he dropped his hand to his side. "Please eat, wash yourself," he smiled again, pointing toward the basket of fruit and bread and wash basin. "I would like to show you Kahalk'íin and answer the thousands of questions you say that you have."

He turned to leave, but Magnus stopped him with a touch to his arm.

"What about the others? I came here with two men and a woman. One of them was badly injured. Are they alright? Are they here?" she asked anxiously.

"Will and Kate? They are fine, but they are not here. They are still looking for you. We are watching them. They are unharmed."

She paused and swallowed deeply, her heart beating so hard she thought it might burst from her chest. Was it possible? Could he still be alive? "And the man I was with when you took me? He'd been bitten by a snake…"

"John," Kukulkan answered flatly. His expression turned grim. Magnus' found herself unconsciously moving toward the table, gripping the top of the chair, her knuckles white.

Kukulkan walked back to her and rested a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"We did everything we could for him," he said softly. After a beat he added, "I'll leave one of my servants outside your door. When you're ready, he'll escort you to my chambers."

With that, the king left with his guards following behind.

Magnus stood there, still gripping the chair, steadying herself.

_John was dead?_

It didn't seem possible. After everything they had gone through, everything they had suffered, to be killed by a snake in the jungles of Guatemala? It was like an insane joke that made her want to laugh out loud.

Magnus closed her eyes, fighting off tears once more. She pulled the chair out and sat on it before she fell down, nausea and dizziness overtaking her. She dropped her head between her knees, breathing deep, trying not to pass out from the shock of it. She couldn't deal with this now, there wasn't time. She had to bury this, set it aside until later. She stood in a city that shouldn't exist with a man who shouldn't be alive. Will and Kate were God knows where, and she needed to find them. And John was…Damn him! Damn him to bloody hell for leaving her again!

Anger. That was it. If she could focus on the anger, she could keep herself from falling apart.

She needed to find out what was going on here. She may not be a prisoner, but Kukulkan wanted something from her, and she doubted he would let her go until he got it.

* * *

Magnus spent the day with the king touring the city. She took her thoughts of John, her emotions, and tucked them neatly away in a corner of her mind. She'd take them out and examine them later when there was time. Right now, all her energy needed to be focused on the wonder before her and its meaning. Every building they entered, every corner they turned was a masterwork of ancient Mayan architecture, except for the fact that none of it should exist, none of it was ancient. It was all new and vibrant and very much alive.

At the city's center stood a pyramid, used as a center for scientific observation and knowledge. Public buildings surrounded it, administrative centers for governance, law, and records. Ball courts and plazas covered with flowers and elaborately maintained gardens were interspersed throughout the streets. The people Magnus observed appeared happy and well cared for. The city was orderly.

But while Kukulkan was content to explain the workings of the Kahalk'íin, the purpose and construction of each building, how food was cultivated and stored, how laws were made and administered, and how the populace lived and spent their time, he avoided any question of who he was and why this place existed.

"In due time," he told her with a secretive, beautiful smile…"In due time."

* * *

It was evening by time they returned to the palace and Kukulkan's private residence. She was to have dinner with him alone, and he had promised he would answer her most pressing question of all.

_Who was he?_

Before dinner, Magnus washed and changed. Kukulkan had provided her with an assortment of clothes and a servant who she thanked kindly but dismissed. She chose a purple cotton dress while she reflected on her day. The city was truly beyond words. She had always been proud of her work with creatures that gave rise to ancient myths, but Kukulkan's realm was myth come to life. Who knew who or what actually dwelled here? She had no doubt that the king was an abnormal of some sort. Could the rest of his people be as well?

Even if they were, Magnus was most interested in Kukulkan himself. She had never met an abnormal quite like him. He looked healthy, young, and fit, but the way he carried himself, the gravitas he held, was captivating. She could sense the years of wisdom and knowledge he possessed and the scientist inside her yearned to tap into it.

When she finished dressing, she allowed herself to be led to the king's private quarters by one of his personal guards, a short but hulking man with a feathered headdress and red and black painted face. Inside the king's vast chambers were elaborately cut stone columns, colored murals of native birds and animals, wooden benches and chairs with orange and red woven cushions, and intricate rugs that decorated both the floors and walls.

Kukulkan greeted Magnus and dismissed the guard. He was dressed in a light blue robe with silver embroidery that opened at the top revealing his bare, muscular chest. He led her to a smaller, more intimate room behind the main foyer. It opened up to a veranda that overlooked the city, lit by glowing torches in the dimming light. The sky was clear, the moon full, and the white roadways and buildings sparkled under its silver hue. Inside the room a table had been prepared, topped with baskets of fruits, nuts, meats, and breads. It stood low to the ground and was surrounded by long, woven cushions. They would recline while they ate.

Kukulkan offered Magnus his hand and she took it as he helped her down to the floor. He lay across from her, his long legs stretched out before him, his head propped up on his elbow, resting on his side. He gazed at Magnus with his grey, melancholy, eyes. His hair was long, almost to his waist, and silver. She once again wondered at the paradox of the silver hair framing his young face. The light from the moon outside and the torches and candles surrounding them shimmered across the strands.

"_When in Rome…"_ Magnus thought, and followed his lead, reclining on her side as well. She watched as Kukulkan followed her movements, his eyes washing over the swelling of her breasts, her hips, the curve of her waist. She tensed and he dropped his gaze, sensing her discomfort.

"Please," he said, waving a hand over the table. "Eat."

Magnus reached out and took what looked like a pecan and tasted it. It was dipped in honey and spice. It was delicious. The king smiled.

"You like it?" he asked.

"I do," she smiled back, gauging the situation and deciding to proceed slowly.

They ate in silence for a time. After a while, Kukulkan began to question Magnus. Where she was from, why she was here, what she wanted. She answered him carefully but honestly and refrained from asking him a thing. Her strategy was to let him set the pace. He would tell her what she wanted to know when he was ready.

After a time he smiled at her. "You've been very patient with me, Helen."

"Have I?" she responded vaguely.

He sat up and dipped his fingers in a water dish, drying them on a cotton cloth. He looked at her serenely, took an empty cup, and poured a red liquid into it.

"Drink…" he said, handing it to her.

Helen sat up and eyed him cautiously.

"It's wine." He answered her, reading her face.

She took it and slowly sipped. It was sweet and strong. He nodded and poured himself a glass as well.

Magnus tilted her head and stared at him, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer. "Who are you?" she finally asked.

He gazed at her calmly, took in a deep breath, and sighed. "Before I came to this place, my name was Amitesh," he started.

"Before you came here?" Magnus probed. "When was that?"

He paused, a faraway look in his eyes. "More than a thousand years ago."

Magnus shook her head in amazement. "You aren't human." It was a statement of the obvious rather than a question, something she had known since she'd met him.

"Not in the way you think of it, no. I am from a race of immortals, all of which have now passed on except for me, or so I thought" he said eyeing her strangely. "We were exiled from our country during the Great War. We believed humans could be educated, taught to live as we, to rule themselves as we did. We believed they shouldn't be kept as slaves."

Helen's eyes widened with understanding. "You're a vampire."

"Some have called me that, yes."

She nodded her head. "That explains a great deal…the serpent image of Kukulkan…the blood sacrifices….But how did your kind end up here in the New World?"

He inhaled deeply and sighed. "After the war, we left our home in the mountains and came to an island we called Saka Dwipa. We lived there in peace for many years, until tragedy befell us."

Magnus recognized the name immediately. "Saka Dwipa, those are Sanskrit words for what Plato called…"

"Atlantis. Yes." Amitesh/Kukulkan nodded.

"Dear God!" she said, amazed. "It was real?" She'd never believed the stories of Atlantis before. But a war between the vampires…the descriptions of those who lived there, fair skinned, immortal, wise beyond words. There was some sense in it.

Amitesh nodded. "Yes, until an earthquake destroyed our island and most of my people with it. A few of us were lucky enough to escape the devastation. We travelled here and made a new life."

"_Kulkukan brought law, agriculture, civilization to the Mayan people…"_ Magnus recited the legend. "You really did, didn't you?"

"At first, yes, we did," Amitesh replied. "Then…things changed. We changed," he said forlornly. "The natives viewed us as gods, and some of us, many of us, took advantage of that belief. We killed the humans and ourselves fighting for control, just like those of our kind we had once railed against. Now only I remain…or so I thought." He gazed at her, a look of hopefulness in his eyes.

She hadn't missed the look he'd given her, the furtive glances he'd sent her way since her arrival, or the insinuations that she had something that he desperately wanted.

"What do you want from me?" Magnus asked him directly.

Amitesh leaned in, edging closer.

"When I saw you enter our valley, I sensed that you were…different from other humans. I sensed…," he paused. "Helen, you are an immortal."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact.

"Not like you," she corrected him quickly. "I'm not a vampire, I am…" she paused. What was she? Sometimes she wasn't sure herself. "I haven't aged in over a century, it's true."

Amitesh moved closer to her, sitting by her side now. He reached his hand out and held hers. She didn't pull away.

"Then you know what it is like to be alone forever. To watch everyone you know and love die around you, while you have no choice but to continue on," he said sadly, his grey eyes piercing her blue.

Magnus nodded, speechless, thoughts of her most recent loss, John, threatening to overwhelm her. She did indeed know loneliness. She knew it all too well.

"I've been alone for so long now…centuries," he paused. "The man you came here with, John? He was your lover?"

Magnus swallowed hard, the wine was starting to have an effect on her. She was feeling light headed, a little drunk, something that rarely happened.

"Yes," she answered Kukulkan, the tears suddenly rising again.

He moved closer to her, his lips only inches from hers now. His long, silver hair tickled her arm. "I have looked for centuries for one of my kind. Someone to be with that wouldn't ...leave," he said quietly, staring at her. "Helen, I believe you are that one."

She opened her mouth in shock. "I…I don't even know you."

He smiled at her. "But we are the same, you and I. We live forever. And those we love…die." He leaned in, hesitating just above her lips. "Don't you grow weary of it?"

It was a simple question with a simple answer. _Yes, Dear God yes!_ Helen thought. She'd been weary of it for almost two centuries, and since Ashley…and now John….The thought of simply ending it had crossed her mind more than once.

She turned to answer him when he leaned in and kissed her, his soft silver hair falling across her face. She wanted to pull back, to stop this. My God, she'd just lost the man she'd loved for her entire life, what was she doing? But the dizzying effects of the wine, the comfort of being close to someone who understood her pain, her loneliness, and the surrealness of this place, this night, propelled her unapologetically forward. If she could lose herself in this, maybe she could forget….

Amitesh pulled back and looked at her, his hands stroking her hair, her cheek. "I want to taste you," he said. "I need to know that I am right, that you are...some manner of my kind."

Magnus looked at him confused, the wine making her heady, unfocused. "Taste me?" She thought he meant in a sexual way at first, but then she looked at his expression and understood.

"I won't hurt you Helen. I would never hurt you," he said, lightly pulling his fingers through her hair, gently caressing her neck, her collarbone. "But I need to know."

She barely knew this man. The only vampire she'd ever known was Nikola, and trust was not something she associated with him. But something about Amitesh was so sincere, so endearing, she found herself nodding, her desire to learn more about this man and his past responding before her mind could take hold and examine the consequences.

He took her hand in his and caressed it, fingering it lightly. Then he moved another hand to the back of her neck, pulling her close to him again. He kissed her once more, his taste sweet, like the wine they'd been drinking, like the rain forest surrounding them, pure and warm and scented with oils and flowers. He moved his lips to her face, trailing feather light kisses down her cheek, her ear lobe, her neck. She found herself shivering at his touch. A part of her brain screamed this was wrong, insane, a betrayal of everything she and John had had. Another part, the part that hated John for leaving her, reminded her that he was the one who had betrayed her when she had needed him most. And now, he was gone forever—The ultimate infidelity. There was no one else. No one who could understand her loneliness, comfort her, console her, except maybe…

"Are you ready, Helen?" Amitesh whispered into her ear, still caressing her hand. His words pulled her out of her introspection. She knew what he was about to do, and she shocked herself when she immediately nodded, almost imperceptibly, and softly said "Yes," in agreement. He drew back to look at her once more, his clear, stunning grey eyes trying to convey…what? Trust? Desire? She wasn't sure. He locked his left hand with her right and intertwined their fingers. Then, slowly, with his right he gently pulled back her long dark hair from her neck and stroked the soft, silky skin there.

Magnus felt her breathing speed up, her heart race.

"It'll only hurt for a brief moment, and then there will be no more pain. I promise, Helen, I will only take what I need and nothing more. I have been who I am for centuries. I have controlled my desires as long."

She had no reason to trust this man. But she found, oddly, that she didn't care. If he took her life, so be it. Part of her, the part mourning John and Ashley and all of those who had come and gone before her, wished that he would. It would be so easy to fall into that darkness right now, so many lifetime's worth, let it consume her in its fire.

She nodded her acquiescence once again, and Amitesh leaned forward, first licking her neck, kissing her lightly, sending shivers up and down her spine at his gentle touches, when suddenly, she felt his teeth sink into her and she gasped, her entire body tensing up. She gripped his hand tighter, her knuckles turning white from the pressure, when the pain suddenly subsided, and all she could feel was a gentle warmth and the quiet, almost sensual sounds of his lips moving against her neck.

* * *

Magnus awoke in the middle of the night in her own chamber, tucked into her bed, her dress removed, now in a light, cotton gown. She was groggy from wine and lack of blood. Amitesh had done as he had promised though. He had tasted just enough of her to know that she was like him—immortal. She had fallen unconscious sometime during their encounter. When she woke, he had placed her on his bed and covered her with a blanket to warm her. He made her eat and drink some water, to revive her and recover her strength. He let her rest there in his chamber, tending to her gently, almost reverently. No one but John had ever cared for her like that, and she couldn't deny the inexplicable charge she felt between them. When the king felt she was strong enough, he led her back to her chambers himself and asked her maid servant to help her change for the night.

He whispered into her ear before he left. "Thank you, Helen for tonight, for your trust." Then he stroked her cheek once more, smiled his sad but beautiful smile, and bid her goodnight.

He had asked her to stay. He would teach her everything he knew. Share all of the ancient knowledge with her of the vampires, of Atlantis, of his people. Knowledge that had been lost for eons. In return, he wanted nothing but her companionship. And if that companionship turned to love one day, well…

Magnus lay awake, staring up at the ceiling, the moonlight casting its silvery glow across her room, amazed at the fact that she was considering his offer.

Will was ready. He could take over the Sanctuary. The other heads of households were more than competent to assist him. She had no doubt her work would continue, and continue well under his leadership. The opportunity to stay here, to learn first-hand about the greatest race of immortals there ever was was undeniably tempting.

Perhaps most appealing of all, however, was the fact that she would do so with someone like herself, a man who would never age, never grow old, never die a natural death. The answer to her life's loneliness lay before her. She wasn't a person prone to making life-changing decisions in the blink of an eye, but something about this man, this place, made her yearn for change. She had worked her entire life to be taken seriously, to be respected. This man was offering that and more, instant and full acceptance. All she had to do now was take it.

Just then, Magnus heard a noise, a movement from the window. She looked to see a large, dark shape crawl through the opening and race to her bed. Before she could brace herself to attack, the figure held her down, covering her mouth with its hand to keep her from screaming.

"Helen! It's me!"

Her eyes flashed open. The figure eased its hand off of her mouth and she looked at him in the moonlight that streamed in now from the open window.

"John?"

He was alive.

_(to be continued)_


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion

**Cult of Kukulkan: Chapter 4  
****Reunion**

The moonlight streamed into Magnus' chamber, casting the tall figure looming over her into shadow.

"My God, John, is it really you?" she cried out.

Helen knew the answer before she had even asked the question. She recognized John's frame, his movements, his voice immediately. She could be blind and know him only from the sound of his breathing; deaf, and be aware of his presence simply from the smell of his skin.

Magnus shot up and threw her arms around John's neck in a desperate embrace. The emotions she'd held in check since their night in the jungle, the night he'd been bitten, the night she thought he had died…_the day she realized months ago that he had left her_… came tumbling out in a tidal wave of tears. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. All she could do was close her eyes, hold on, and pray that if she held him tight enough he'd still be there when she opened them again.

John wrapped his arms around her in response, folding her smaller body into his. The sound of her sobbing tore at his heart. Helen Magnus was not a woman easily moved to tears. To know he was the cause of her sorrow, yet again, ripped at his soul. He was wrong to have left her. He knew it the moment he saw her again, so angry, so full of rage at the Itsa village. He had left to protect her, keep her safe from anyone who might want to hurt him by harming her. But all he had succeeded in doing was abandoning her when she had needed him most, and wounding her so deeply her heart broke with fury and grief. He felt himself becoming overwhelmed by emotion and sat down on the bed, pulling Helen down with him, before his knees gave out.

Minutes passed, and neither one of them spoke; they simply sat on the bed, clinging to one another in the dim light. John stroked Helen's back in a lazy rhythm trying to soothe her, reassure her that he was here and alive. Eventually, her sobbing ceased. He could feel her breathing even out, her body relax, hear her thoughts as she worked to compose herself, to become Dr. Helen Magnus again.

After a time, she pulled away from him. Her hands moved to grip his biceps, still afraid to break contact completely. He loosened his hold on her long enough to lean back and look at her face. He could see the tears glistening on her cheeks and wiped them away with the back of his hand, a gesture that caused even more to flow.

"John," she choked out, eyes shut. She opened them and looked at him, her pupils finally adjusting to what little light there was in the room, seeing him through shimmering lashes.

"How?" she stammered. "I thought….They said you were dead."

"Not quite, my love," he shook his head, lifting one hand to brush away a stray lock from her eyes. "Not yet."

"But how…What happened?" she asked, baffled.

Druitt drew in a deep breath. "After the snake bit me, I grabbed your hand and teleported away for help. The only place I could think of to go was back to the Itsa village. But when I arrived, you weren't with me. So I went back to find you."

Helen listened to him, mouth agape, gripping his arms even tighter.

"When I returned, a group of men were carrying you away, unconscious" John continued. "I was too weak to fight, so I merely followed them. They brought you here. I came back as soon as I could."

Helen stared at him. "You went back? After you'd been bitten? John, you could have died! What in God's name were you thinking?" she asked, perplexed.

"I was thinking that you weren't with me," he answered simply.

Helen tilted her head and swallowed hard, doing her best to keep the tears from flowing again.

"John, how are you alive? How did you survive?" she asked, unconsciously rubbing her hands up and down his arms, reassuring herself that he was truly with her.

He smiled at her weakly. "As soon as I knew where they had taken you, I teleported back to the village. They injected me with antivenin. They saved my life."

She shook her head. "But it's only been a few days…"

"Helen, you know my body heals quicker than others. And while I'm not completely better, I'm well enough to get you out of here."

Magnus hesitated, stopping the movement of her hands on his arms. John looked at her oddly.

"Helen?"

"I'm not a prisoner here" she started quietly. "I don't want to leave, not yet. I've met Kukulkan. John, you won't believe who and what he is!" she finished with enthusiasm.

Druitt stared at her. He recognized the tone in her voice, knew it well. He'd first heard it at Oxford when they were young. She'd made a discovery, an exciting discovery, and like the proverbial dog with a bone, nothing would sway her from whatever course she was now set upon.

"Helen, whoever or whatever he is, he brought you here by force. I saw it with my own eyes. And he apparently told you, or at least led you to believe, that I was dead. You've been kidnapped and lied to and you want to…." He stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing as his gaze dropped down to her neck.

John reached out and brushed her hair away from her shoulder, fingering the two puncture wounds on her skin.

"What in God's name is this?" he asked, his voice heavy with shock and concern. "Helen, what have they done to you?" He was worried, distraught.

"John, Kukulkan is a vampire."

Druitt gaped at her. Even in the darkened shadows she could see the anger forming on his face, see his body tense.

"I'll kill the bloody bastard!" John growled, moving to stand up.

Helen tightened her grip on his arms, keeping him down. "No, John, you don't understand," she paused. "I let him do this."

She had startled him speechless. "You did what?" he finally managed.

"He sensed the source blood in me. It's why he brought me here. He suspected I was immortal, like him. He's alone, John. The last of his kind. He asked if he could do this…taste me, to see if I was truly like him."

Druitt narrowed his eyes at her, trying to understand how the most gifted person he knew could have done something so reckless. "And you let him? Why, Helen? My God, he could have killed you!"

Helen dropped her arms to her side, laying her hands in her lap, casting her eyes down to gather her thoughts. After a moment, she looked back up at Druitt. How could she explain this in a way he would understand, in a way he wouldn't judge her?

She was taking too long to respond, and John grew frustrated. He stood up, fists clenched in an effort to control himself.

"He took advantage of you, defiled you!" he ground out, stalking towards the door.

"John!" she cried out, leaping after him and grabbing his arm, stopping him in mid-flight.

"Let go, Helen!" he warned.

She felt her own blood boil in response. What right did he have to judge Kukulkan as a monster after the crimes he himself had committed, to punish any man who looked at her twice? He'd forfeited that right when he'd left her.

"John, stop and listen to me!" she ordered. His eyes darkened at the command in her voice. They stood toe to toe, glaring at each other, breathing heavily. Finally Druitt took a deep breath, inclining his head ever so slightly.

"He's a living vampire, John. An abnormal we thought extinct. He offered to share his knowledge, his world with me. Can you imagine what we could learn?"

John nodded his head, beginning to understand.

"He wants you to stay here, doesn't he?" he asked. She could hear the tension brewing underneath, the rage he was still trying to reign in.

Magnus hesitated. "Yes."

Druitt didn't say a thing. He simply looked away, trying to absorb what she was telling him, the silence between them tangible.

"I thought you were dead, John. Ashley is dead," Helen responded softly. She took a deep breath. They'd never discussed this before, her aloneness, the isolation she felt, had felt, for decades. "Everyone I've loved I've lost, and frankly…I've grown tired of it. If he killed me, so be it. If not…."

John looked at her, speechless, trying to put his thoughts, his feelings into words.

"So you would give up your life's work? Your very life? You would take that risk because you're tired of living, Helen? Is that what you're telling me? You never said anything about this to me before." He had no idea how alone she had felt, had been.

She stared at him, tears threatening once more. "When you came back to me, when you were yourself again, things were different. Suddenly, there was more than just the Sanctuary, my work to live for. And then when you left…and I thought you were dead…," she shook her head. "I don't know, John. Everything seemed to matter less," she finished faintly.

Druitt gazed at her, his heart dropping and his rage vanishing in an instant. He had put this woman through hell and back again a dozen times over. She didn't want or need his protection. She was intelligent and strong and utterly capable of living her life without him. What she needed was his love, and that was the one thing he had denied her.

He put his hands on her cheeks and gently lifted her face to his. "I was an idiot, Helen. A complete fool. Can you ever forgive me?" he asked sincerely.

She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his hands against her cheeks. She opened them again, placing her hands on his waist. She'd been prepared to tell him "no" that night in the jungle. To tell him she couldn't tolerate the pain he constantly inflicted upon her. But when she thought he had died, she had realized the truth. She loved him with her entire being, still, and the pain of losing him was far worse than the pain of loving him had ever been.

"I always forgive you, John," she answered him after a moment with a weak smile.

"I don't deserve it," he responded, a smile forming on his lips as well.

"No," she agreed, shaking her head. "You certainly do not."

He leaned in and kissed her, his lips warm and sweet. His face tickled hers with his light beard, a sensation she thought she could get highly used to. God, she missed this! Missed him. Missed them. Together.

Helen moved her arms up to circle John's neck, still surprised at the wavy dark hair she found there. She pulled him deeper into the kiss and he fell with her, their mouths instinctively opening, tongues teasing one another's. But unlike their last encounter, when sex and passion were mixed in a frenzy of heat and anger, this was slow and soft. Without saying a word they had agreed that this was somehow a new beginning, a rediscovery. And they would take their time with it.

John was the first to break the kiss. He pulled back to look at Helen in the moonlight. Her long, dark hair tumbled over her shoulders; her skin, her thin cotton gown reflecting the light shining in through the far window.

"I love you, Helen," John professed, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other caressing her cheek. "Always. I swear to God, I will never leave you again. No matter the consequences. .."

"And I swear to God if you do, John Druitt, I shall hunt you down and kill you myself, is that clear?" she taunted him.

John grinned. "Oh, very!"

She smiled at him, a wicked, playful smile, grabbing him by the collar and walking him backwards with her towards the bed, smoothly sitting down and scooting back so he could join her. As soon as they were settled, John leaned in and kissed her neck, trailing feather light touches from her ear to her collar bone and back again. He knew she liked this. He could feel the goose bumps on her skin, the slight shiver in her muscles, though the night was thick and warm.

He reached up and fondled her breasts through her gown, feeling her nipples harden at his touch, feeling himself harden in response. Helen pulled back and tilted her head to capture his lips, the kiss still soft, but growing more urgent. Her hands reached up to John's shirt, blindly unbuttoning the light, khaki cloth until she found what she wanted. Bare skin, smooth and muscular. Her hands caressed his chest, his nipples, his stomach, dipping higher and lower with each pass, while she deepened the kiss between them.

John pulled back and tugged at Helen's gown, gently raising it over her hips. She held her arms up so he could lift it above her head and tossed it to the floor. She was naked before him. Beautiful and glorious and perfect. He found himself breathless at the sight of her, and grinned in awe at his good fortune to be the one to witness her like this.

"My God, woman…." he gasped. "How is it that you become more beautiful each time I see you?"

Helen returned his smile, easing his shirt off his shoulders and reaching down to pull his trousers from his hips, making John have to move so he could take his pants off completely before returning his hands to his ministrations of her breasts.

Helen shifted so she was sitting on his lap, his erection nudging against her opening, her arms wrapped around his neck. She grinned widely at him.

"Perhaps if you stayed around long enough you'd come to realize just how beautiful I am and quit running off like a coward."

"Touché, my dear, touché" John replied, wrapping his arms around her smooth back.

He tipped his head and nipped at Helen's lips, pulling at them gently. She responded in kind, once more opening her mouth to him, their tongues tasting one another, slowly gliding over each other's cheeks and teeth.

John returned to Helen's breasts, not breaking the kiss, holding the weight of them in his hands, softly rubbing her nipples with his thumbs. Finally he pulled away from her lips, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his head in her breasts. He kissed one, then the other, licking her nipples then blowing on them, pulling on them teasingly with his teeth, listening as her breath sped up with every caress, the occasional moan escaping from beneath her clenched teeth.

Helen wrapped one hand around John's head, pulling him closer, urging him forward, kneading her fingers into his dark, wavy hair. The other hand she let fall to his lap, grasping his long, hard, cock and stroking it firmly, feeling the first trickle of his arousal moisten her hand, using it to aid her fingers in gliding up and down his length.

John moved from her breasts back to her mouth, driving his tongue deeper with each stroke of her hand. He dropped one arm from Helen's back, sliding it across her waist and hip to her center, feeling her so warm, so ready that he had to fight to keep from throwing her down across the bed and claiming her right then. But that wasn't how he wanted their reunion to be. Helen needed more than sex tonight; she needed to be cherished, lavished upon, loved.

Druitt reluctantly let go of her mouth and moved his hands to her waist, hearing her sigh in protest of his absence, and moved his lips to her ear.

"Take me inside you," he whispered, pushing his tongue into her ear then nipping her earlobe. He could feel her nod in response. Helen put her hands on John's shoulders and he lifted her, holding her there for a moment, their eyes locked, then sliding her down on top of his length slowly, both of them shuddering at the sensation of their union.

"Dear, God…" Helen moaned, feeling him fill her entirely. This man completed her in ways no other ever had. Without him, she wasn't whole.

Druitt's mind reeled at the sensation of Helen wrapped so tightly around him, her softness, her beauty, her heat…all of it combined to undo him. God, how he had missed her! Missed them, together.

She began to ride him slowly, eyes closed in concentration and pleasure, moving up and down his length. John held on to her waist loosely, letting her set the pace, the rhythm of their dance. When it grew faster, hotter, he wrapped his arms around her completely as she did around him, their faces cheek to cheek, his chest against her breasts, both of them sweating from the heat, their hearts racing. He rained soft kisses over her cheek, her jaw, needing to show her how much he loved her.

"Talk to me, Helen," John whispered, holding her tight, urging her to speed up, helping her to move up and down him. "Tell me how it feels, love…"

She could barely breathe, never mind speak; it felt so good, so wonderful.

"John…God…please…," she moaned.

"You are so beautiful…so beautiful," he told her, still whispering in her ear, pushing her harder, moving his hands to her waist, gripping her tight. "How does it feel? Tell me how it feels…" It felt like ages since they'd last made love, the frantic coupling in the jungle being something else entirely, and he needed to have her back in every sense, needed to feel her, taste her, smell her…hear her sweet voice.

"God…John…It feels…It's so good. I've missed you so much. I love you, John…Yes…God…."

He could feel her orgasm building, her hips rocking, her muscles clenching, her body beginning to buck against him.

"Look at me, Helen. Open your eyes, love, look at me." He was doing everything within his power to hold back, to wait for her. He needed to watch her when she came. To look at her and know he was the one making this amazing woman cry out in passion. Have her stare at him and see how much she wanted, loved him, when no one in the world deserved that love less.

Helen's blue eyes flew open and met his. "My God, John!" she gasped, trying to breathe, feeling her orgasm growing, sweat dripping, her body vibrating, ready to explode. "I'm coming…God, John…I'm co…."

He lifted Helen up and slammed her down on top of him one last time, driving as hard and as deep as possible inside her. She threw her head back and shuddered, screaming, digging her nails into his shoulders, shaking from the sensations coursing through her. John toppled with her, crying out her name as he came, spilling himself inside her, and knowing that he had come home to her at last.

From outside their chamber, through a small opening, Kukulkan watched…and waited.

_(to be continued)_


	5. Chapter 5: The Bargain

**Author's Note: **The final chapter FINALLY! Thank ya'll for your patience, reading, and please review! As always, I don't own anything of Sanctuary or its characters. My words, however, are my own. The song belongs to Disney :) Peace. NCS

**The Cult of Kukulkan  
****Chapter 5: The Bargain**  
(Copyright 2011, NoCleverSig)

Helen Magnus awoke, the early morning light streaming into her chamber bathing her naked body with its warm, yellow rays. She closed her eyes, breathed deep, and sighed, stretching her arms above her head and tugging her toes toward the end of the bed, feeling positively…delicious.

Yes, that was the word for it.

She and John had been apart for…what? Three months? Maybe longer? And last night their reunion had been…

_Delicious._

She smiled to herself, laughing at her inability to arrive at a more appropriate term for their numerous nocturnal encounters.

And she a doctor, too!

Somehow _delicious_ summed it up quite nicely. Although scrumptious, luscious, mouth-watering, delectable, and yummy all came to mind, as did a number of other, more crass terms, which weren't appropriate for a lady, or a gentleman, to repeat.

Regardless, it had been awhile since Magnus had exercised…certain muscles. The pleasant soreness and unusual languidness she felt made her positively hum with life. Something that had been desperately lacking in her since Druitt had left her. Any thought she had fleetingly given to remaining here in this city with Kukulkan had vaporized during the evening, although she hoped the chance to visit, study, and perhaps even befriend the ancient vampire, to learn from his knowledge, experience, and culture, would still stand. But then John had returned.

_John_….

She had thought he was dead. Been told as much. …That was something she would have to rectify with the Mayan king and soon_._

It's an age-old adage, she thought, one she knew well given her many years, but it still held true: One didn't truly appreciate something until it was lost to you.

When Tesla had rid John of the energy creature and Druitt had returned to her a cleansed man nearly a year ago, everything had changed. It had taken time, months in fact, for them to reconnect, to discover if it was even possible for them to love again, given everything that had transpired between them over their century and a half of living.

But forgiveness, it seemed, was a magical thing.

Then, of course, John's past had resurrected itself, come back to life to haunt them and exact its revenge upon Helen, nearly killing her. Afterwards, Druitt had left, determined not to cause her any more pain. But what he'd failed to recognize, and only now understood, was that, for Helen, the pain of losing him was far worse than the pain of loving him had ever been.

So here they lay united again, in a city that shouldn't exist, with a man, an immortal, whose race had died out eons ago, forgiveness weaving its magical spell over them once more. Of all of her father's or her discoveries, even the Source Blood, this surely must be the grandest of them all.

Magnus rolled over onto her stomach, anxious to start the day, to show John the city, to introduce him to Amitesh/Kukulkan, and to instill in him half the excitement she felt as to the knowledge they were sure to discover here.

But John wasn't there. The sheets where he'd lain during the night were cold, the blanket pulled back. His clothes were gone.

Helen sat up, pulling the soft woven blanket up around her chest to cover her naked form. Nothing in the stone room looked amiss. No sign of forced entry, a scuffle. Had he teleported away for some reason? A sudden wave of panic washed over her. Had Druitt left her again? She shook her head. No. He wouldn't. Not after last night. Not after the hours they'd spent talking and making love, sorting out their feelings, recommitting themselves to one another.

If John left of his own accord, he'd done so for good reason. But somehow, Helen suspected it hadn't been of his own volition. Everything about the situation felt…wrong. Her panic started to rise again, this time for an entirely new reason.

Magnus looked around the bed until she spotted the light cotton gown she'd worn last night, slipped it on, and made her way across the cold stone tiles to the window to look out at the city below. She pulled back the soft, sheer curtain to find two guards posted on the walkway below her.

They hadn't been there before.

Heat rose in her face. Her muscles tensed, her senses tingled, and her entire body braced for a fight. She moved quickly to the door, gently jiggling the handle. As she'd anticipated, it was locked.

She might have been a guest before, but she was most definitely a prisoner now.

Just then the lock was drawn back and the door flew open, nearly knocking Helen over. Four Mayan guards stood outside. One of them, a short, stocky man with a grim expression and a feathered headdress, entered and spoke to her in his native tongue, ordering her to get dressed.

"Where are we going?" she asked in Mayan, already certain of the answer.

"You've been summoned by Kukulkan," he replied sternly, and said nothing more.

* * *

The four guards escorted Helen through the hallways of the palace to the king's chambers, two taking point, two following behind. This was nothing like the reception she'd received last night as she'd been led to dinner, dressed and ready for seduction.

The more Magnus thought about it, the more she recognized that's exactly what had taken place. The wine she'd drank had been drugged. She realized that now as she recalled the headache that plagued her after she'd awoke in Kukulkan's bed. He'd explained it away as blood loss, and in her hazy state she hadn't questioned it, but it was more likely due to the after effects of a heavy sedative of some kind. The drink itself simply wasn't strong enough to have that kind of effect on her, feeding her melancholy and making her more easily amenable to the king's request to "taste her."

She shook her head, angry at herself for her momentary weakness and for letting John's death, or what she believed to be John's death, cloud her judgment. She wondered now if Kukulkan had orchestrated that as well, knowing it would put her at an emotional disadvantage, making her more vulnerable and open to suggestion.

Helen suspected the king had planned or anticipated almost everything that had happened except for one: Druitt being alive. If her locked door, guards, and escorts were any indication, the realization that John was alive and well and sleeping in her chambers had been an unexpected and unwelcomed turn of events for the Mayan king.

What Kukulkan/Amitesh's real agenda was, however, remained a mystery. What he'd told her last night, companionship for his loneliness, had been a cheap ploy, and Magnus felt foolish for falling for the ruse so easily. Nevertheless, Amitesh did want something from her. That was undeniable, and he'd gone to great lengths to get it.

What that something was she was certainly about to find out.

Magnus entered the king's chamber with the guards still surrounding her. She had dressed in her own khaki pants and shirt today, the ones she'd been wearing the night she was taken, the ones the king's servants had washed and returned to her. She wanted to put some psychological distance between her and Kukulkan, to remind him that she was not of his world, and the clothing she chose was a foundation upon which to start that separation.

Amitesh/Kukulkan stood outside on the veranda, sunlight streaming into his chambers, bathing his pale face in an eerie, reddish light. His slender, elegant hands were clasped behind his back. He faced the jungle, surveying his city, his long, silver hair cascading down his white, feathered robe. It hung loosely across his shoulders, bound only by a metal chain.

He turned as Helen entered and smiled at her, his face young and handsome and shadowed in the reddish hue.

"Come," he gestured with his hand, inviting her to enter.

Anger welled up inside Magnus, and she had to fight the urge to fly forward and smack the serene smile from his face. He knew where John was, she was certain of it. But she held her tongue, choosing instead to let Amitesh make the first move.

With a deep, cleansing breath, Helen moved forward to greet Kukulkan, the guards dropping back. Suddenly she caught movement out of the corner of her right eye. She turned toward it and saw a figure dressed in modern clothes; dark slacks and a light shirt, sitting on the king's couch in shadow. He stood to greet her. Magnus' heart skipped a beat, thinking at first it might be John, but as the man moved toward the light she noted he was too short, too scrawny, his dark hair too spiky to be Druitt. Her jaw dropped in shock and recognition.

"Nikola!" she cried out.

"Helen! So good to see you. You're looking well. I'm happy you found the serpent king safely." Tesla gestured toward Kukulkan. "I knew you would. You're good like that," he winked, smiling his toothy grin at her.

Kukulkan crossed the veranda back into his chambers, silently observing the conversation.

Magnus turned from Tesla to Kukulkan and back again, her mind racing. "What the hell is going on? What are you doing here, Nikola?"

Tesla put his hands up in mock surrender at her angry tone. "Helen, I can explain everything," he answered walking up to her, casually dropping his arms to his side and taking a deep breath.

"I met his lordship a few months ago. Stumbled upon him and this miraculous place," Tesla said, gesturing around him, "quite accidentally while I was doing research, you might call it, in Columbia. Anyway, we got to talking. I told him about me, you, some of our friends, and he asked to meet you. I said I would arrange an introduction, that's all."

"An introduction?" Magnus asked suspiciously, glancing at Kukulkan who stood still as a statue, watching her. "Really? Then why didn't you simply invite me here? Why send me on a wild goose chase through the Guatemalan jungle for a mythological Mayan god?"

Tesla grinned sheepishly. "I was always so transparent to you, wasn't I, Helen?"

"Always," she agreed, crossing her arms and bracing herself for the other shoe to drop.

"Okay," Tesla responded, thrusting his hands into his pockets and looking up in the air, avoiding Helen's angry gaze. "I made a deal. One I was fairly certain you wouldn't agree to. I introduce you to Kukulkan, and he gives me the one thing I want the most in return."

Helen cocked her head and stared at him. "And that is?" She stopped, closed her eyes, and nodded. "He makes you a vampire."

Tesla looked back at her and grinned. "Sweet, huh?"

"How?" she demanded.

Nikola paused and turned to the king, his eyes coursing up and down Amitesh's tall, handsome frame. "Just look at him, Helen," he said gesturing toward the ancient ruler. "He _is_ the Source Blood!"

Helen glanced from Tesla to Kukulkan and back again. Nikola had a point. Amitesh, Kukulkan, whoever he was, was a living, breathing vampire, with the Source Blood running through his veins. The possibilities of that…

"So you arrange an introduction between the king and I, he provides you with a vial of his blood, and he gets what in return, Nikola?" She was tired of playing games. Something was going on here. The king wanted something from her, and Nikola knew precisely what it was.

The room fell eerily silent. Tesla frowned and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Well…you see….," he hesitated.

"I need your help, Helen," Amitesh stepped forward, his soft, lilting voice interrupting them. He held his hands, motionless, behind his back, regarding her appreciatively. "If my race is to be reborn, I need you…your immortality."

Helen searched Amitesh's grey eyes, understanding finally dawning upon her, and spun on her heels to face Tesla, her own blue eyes spitting fire. "Nikola, tell me what you agreed to. Now!"

Tesla took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I may have, sort of….," he hesitated again.

"Spill it!" Magnus shouted.

"…suggested that you might be able to bear his children and start a new race of immortal vampires that could reconquer the world," he mumbled in one incredibly fast breath.

"What?" Helen shouted, shocked.

"See, I knew you wouldn't appreciate the long-term view here. That's why I thought a simple invitation to come visit and mate with an ancient Mayan vampire king just wasn't going to fly…" Tesla began, taking a quick step back just in case Magnus took a swing at him. He sighed. "I had to get you here somehow, Helen. I certainly couldn't ask you to simply loan me your eggs. I know you, you'd say no." He added, his finger pointing at her.

"So your plan was what, Nikola?" Magnus asked, flabbergasted. "Have me trek through the Guatemalan jungle, stumble upon Kukulkan, sleep with him, become pregnant, and bare a new race of immortals?"

Tesla nodded at her sheepishly again, biting his nails. "More or less, yeah."

Part of Helen Magnus, no, all of her, if she were honest, wanted to kill Nikola Tesla. Unfortunately, for the first time in a very long time, all she could manage to do was to stand there speechless.

"Look at him, Helen," Tesla finally said, pointing at Kukulkan. "He's a sexy guy. I thought, you know, in your depression over Johnny leaving maybe a little one-night stand would do you good."

"You're insane!"

"Just a simple wham, bam, thank you…."

"NIKOLA!"

"And if it didn't take, well, there's always the old fashion method of harvesting your eggs and fertilizing them in a test tube, but where's the fun in that really? I was only thinking of your well being….," Tesla said, tilting his head, holding his hand out to Magnus, a puppy dog look in his eyes.

"Enough!" Kukulkan bellowed, his voice booming through the hall.

Tesla leaned over and whispered in Helen's ear. "What I didn't anticipate was that the blood sucker would actually fall for you and decide he wanted you _permanently, _and not just the use of your ovaries." He shook his head. "I should have seen that one coming. Sorry."

Magnus didn't have time to respond.

"Helen," Kukulkan walked up to her, his tall, handsome form towering over her. "I am the last of my kind, you know this. I have attempted for centuries to have children with humans, but it is impossible. But you….," he reached a hand up to stroke her cheek. Magnus flinched from his touch. He dropped it back down to his side and sighed. "When Tesla told me of your existence, your immortality, and then after I tasted you …." He nodded. "I knew that you were like me, that together we could create a new generation of immortals just like us," he finished, his face beaming with anticipation and pride.

Helen glared at him. "And I would want to do this why?"

He took a step closer to her, inches from her face. "Because you are as lonely as I am and have lost just as much."

Helen looked at him searching his eyes, then turned her head and stared at Nikola.

"You told him about Ashley," she said softly, frowning.

For the first time since this bizarre scene had started, Tesla looked remorseful. "He asked me if you were fertile. Helen, I'm sorry, I had to…"

She turned away from Nikola, closing her eyes again, not able to face him. Not now.

Luring her here with a lie, promising her body, her reproductive abilities to Kukulkan so that the ancient king could rebuild the vampire race so that he, Tesla, could take away a drop of his blood…all of that in some sordid, maniacal way was understandable. But telling this stranger, this vampire king about Ashley, her dead daughter? Somehow that had crossed the line.

"You could have forced yourself on me. I wasn't in a position to fight back," Magnus finally responded to Kukulkan, staring him straight in the eye. She glanced at the guards behind her. "I'm still not."

He met her gaze. "I considered it," he admitted. "But I don't want you that way, Helen. Despite what you may think of me, I am not a monster. I want you to stay with me, to be part of the rebirth of a great race, a great civilization, because it is what you want as well." He looked at her softly. "Last night, I thought perhaps you did."

Helen took a breath. Kukulkan hadn't lied. Not about his loneliness at least. That they did share in common. In that he had told the truth.

"And if it's not what I want?" she asked curious as to his reply.

Kukulkan/Amitesh took a deep breath and stiffened. "That would be most unfortunate."

Magnus nodded. So he'd prefer she volunteer to be the mother of the vampire nation, but if free will didn't suffice, brute force was an obvious option.

"And what of John? Where is he? What have you done with him?" Her anger was growing by the minute, at Tesla, at Amitesh, at the whole incredible incredulity of the situation.

Kulkulkan's face fell. "Nothing."

"You're lying," Magnus accused him through gritted teeth.

Kukulkan's eyes flashed from grey to black. It was the first real sign of anger she'd seen from the Mayan king.

"I have no need for lies," he snarled, his voice changing from the smooth lilt to a deep, guttural growl, a hint of his true vampire nature revealed. He breathed deep, closed his eyes, and they changed again, returning to their soft grey hues.

"I don't know where your lover is," he replied, his lips slightly sneering at the word.

"You told me he was dead once," Helen countered, just as angry. "Why should I believe you now?"

He smiled. "You concluded he was dead. As I said, I have no need for lies. "

Magnus shook her head. "And I have no desire to argue semantics."

"You know, John," Tesla interrupted, breaking the tension. "He probably went out for a quick kill, a little light snack before breakfast after a long, arduous night. I'm sure he'll be back soon," he winked at Helen.

Something in Nikola's expression, his voice, caught Magnus' attention. _I'm sure he'll be back soon…._Nikola knew where John was, she was sure of it.

Just then a flash of light, a spark of electricity filled the room. John materialized behind her, grabbing the two guards closest to the door and smashing their heads together, knocking them unconscious. Helen seized the guard next to her, yanked his head down, and slammed his face into her knee, crushing his nose and sending him reeling to the ground in pain. John lunged toward Helen and Kukulkan, but the fourth guard raised his spear, blocking the way. Helen bent low and swung her leg straight out, hitting the guard in the back of the knees, making him tumble forward. John finished him off with a hard kick to the side of the head with his boot. But before Druitt could reach Helen, Kukulkan roared up, throwing his feathered, white robe back behind his shoulders, his muscles rippling, his grey eyes darkening to jet black, fangs erupting from his mouth, his hands turning to claws and grabbing Helen from behind.

"I'll kill her before you can reach her," he growled, grasping one clawed arm around Helen's waist, the other on top of her head tilting her head back, Kukulkan's fangs a breath away from her neck. "I'll rip her head off!"

John froze, and panic washed over him. He was quick, but the vampire king was certainly quicker. Any moment now a hundred Mayan guards would invade this chamber, and any hope he had of rescuing Helen would vanish.

"Sorry, not so fast your lordship," a slightly Serbian voice said from behind them.

Nikola Tesla flicked his hand in the air, and the metal chain clasping Kukulkan's feathered robe flew back tight against the king's neck, choking him. The vampire snapped his head up in shock, his fangs leaving Helen's throat just long enough for John to grab Magnus' hand and teleport them away.

They materialized at their original campsite. Kate and Will were sitting on the ground, planning their next reconnaissance of the area, still searching for Magnus and Druitt when the two appeared not 10 feet from them.

"Magnus!" Will shouted, jumping up in shock and relief.

"Doc! Johnny! What the hell?" Kate immediately started running toward them.

"Hold on!" Magnus turned toward Kate, stopping her with a hand in the air. Helen turned back to Druitt. "You have to go back for him, John. You can't just leave him there. He'll kill him."

Druitt rolled his eyes, his hands still clinging tight to Helen's arms.

"John…" she pleaded.

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth and disappeared, off to save the one man who had put them all at risk. Again.

**

* * *

**

**Epilogue:**

"So, Tesla arranged the whole thing so you would meet Kukulkan and become, what? A vampire baby factory?" Kate asked, arms folded across her white t-shirt, her jean-clad legs crossed as she leaned against Magnus' office wall.

Helen nodded. "Yes, in exchange for a sample of Amitesh's blood."

"Wow, the guy really doesn't have any boundaries, does he?" Kate quipped.

"Man, how totally _Aliens_," Henry mumbled, sitting on the couch staring off into space, trying to absorb what had happened.

Will Zimmerman scratched his head, still looking uncertain. "One thing I still don't get," he started.

"Only one, William?" John said sarcastically, sipping a glass of Merlot as he sat in the side chair, dressed in his usual black attire, his face and head now cleanly shaven. The fire crackled gently behind him. "I have about a thousand questions remaining."

Will looked at John, unfazed by his wry humor. "Where were you? When you disappeared from Magnus' room, where did you go?"

John nodded and leaned forward. "I was knocked unconscious and captured during the night by Kukulkan's guards and imprisoned. Tesla must have told him of my…unique abilities… because they used an EM shield to keep me from escaping my cell. No doubt the same technology they use to mask the existence of their city."

"So how _did_ you escape?" Kate asked.

John shook his head, the red wine gently sloshing in his stem-less glass. "I'm not sure. Suddenly the EM shield was gone, and I was able to teleport again. I went back to Helen's chamber. When I couldn't find her, I began searching the rest of the palace."

"It must have been Nikola who freed you, John," Helen remarked, leaning back against her desk, arms folded across her dark, blue dress. "There was a look in his eyes….like he was trying to tell me something when we were talking with Kukulkan."

John huffed and took a large swig of wine.

"It's possible," Henry said, thinking out loud. "He's Mr. Magneto after all, and we are talking about an EM shield. Makes some sense he'd able to control that."

Helen gazed at Will who still had a puzzled look on his face.

"More questions, Will?" she asked.

The young psychiatrist shook his head. "Something still bothers me," he leaned forward looking straight at Magnus. "I get, however twisted it may be, why Tesla needed you. But why send Druitt there with you?" Will turned to John. "What you thought was some sort of corporation sending you on a consult to go find proof of a mythological creature turned out to be Nikola Tesla. He not only sent Magnus to look for Kukulkan, he sent you too. Why? I just don't get it." Will trailed off.

"Bloody good question, William. I wish I could answer for that myself. Helen?" John looked at her eagerly

Helen took a deep breath then folded her hands across her lap, thinking.

"Plan B, I imagine," she said.

"What?" Kate asked, her nose wrinkling in confusion.

"While Nikola might not bat an eye at harvesting and fertilizing my eggs so that he could regain his vampiric abilities and conquer the world, he wouldn't seriously harm me. So he arranged for John to be there as back up, just in case things went wrong with his plan. John was Plan B."

"And go wrong they certainly did, what with Amitesh, Kukulkan, whatever the fiend's name was, taking a fancy to you and wanting you to remain with him permanently. What a surprise. You've always had a way with men, my dear," John said grinning, taking another sip of wine.

Helen sent John a quick glance that promised she would demonstrate that particular skill later, when they were alone. John acknowledged it with an almost imperceptible tilt of his head.

"Are you going to go back? To Kukulkan? To the City of the Sun?" Will asked in a quiet voice. He looked up at Helen expectantly. John looked too. The room fell silent.

"Someday, perhaps….Someday," Magnus answered softly, not adding anything more.

"Where is Tesla anyway?" Henry asked suddenly, looking over at John.

"Oh, he's safe. Don't worry," John smiled, finishing off his Merlot.

"John….," Helen said warningly.

* * *

The shrill, child-like voices pierced Nikola Tesla's brain, causing another spasm to rock his body as the horrendous sounds continued to grind ceaselessly into his ears. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the noise, the music, the colored lights, the giant eyes, the smiling faces of a thousand tiny dolls singing in endless unison, but it was impossible. He screamed in agony, his body tied tight to the Imagineers-made totem pole, hoping someone in a passing boat would hear his pleas for help, but his cries were drowned out by the cacophony of that endless, bloody melody.

_It's a world of laughter  
A world of tears  
It's a world of hopes  
And a world of fears  
There's so much that we share  
That it's time we're aware  
It's a small world after all _

_It's a small world after all  
It's a small world after all  
It's a small world after all  
It's a small, small world!_

When he got out of here, and he would get out of here, he would kill John Druitt.

No one trapped Nikola Tesla in the,_"It's a Small World"_ ride at Disneyland and lived to tell about it. No one.

END


End file.
